The present invention relates to cleaning and other surface treating devices that have a permanent or semi-permanent handle and a replaceable cleaning/surface treating element. More particularly, it relates to such devices that are configured for use in a manner similar to a scrub brush, and to containers useful for shipping, displaying, and storing them.
A variety of cleaning/surface treating devices are known in which a handle removably links to a replaceable cleaning/surface treating element. This is often seen in connection with floor mops having replaceable sponge-like or rag-like heads. Most of these devices attach the replaceable elements to the handle with some form of articulatable joint, and in any event are designed so that the consumer holds the handle at a significant distance from the surface being cleaned. This can make it difficult to use these devices to clean corners around bathtubs, or to clean narrow grooves between wall tiles.
Conventional hand-held scrub brushes can clean such corners and grooves quite well. However, they become dirty and/or smelly over time. Further, such brushes drip after use. Thus, consumers dislike storing them between uses.
There have been attempts to use replaceable cleaning heads with small handles, so as to create compact hand-held scrubbing devices with replaceable cleaning heads. See for example U.S. Pat. No. 5,987,687 and U.S. patent application publications 2003/0070246 and 2004/0117935. However, the cleaning heads and/or the handles used therewith were unduly expensive given the comparative cost to using a permanent structure type scrub brush. Further, they had no optimal storage system for the handle and replacement pads between usage.
In U.S. Pat. No. 1,534,259 there was a disclosure of positioning a polishing cloth attached to a permanent handle on a container. However, that container did not provide a separate housing for the handle before use, nor did the container house replaceable cleaning elements.
U.S. patent D336,613 disclosed a container with a pivotable cover, where the top cover had a well. However, that patent did not suggest that such a well could be used for holding a handle (as opposed to providing a structure compatible with another nested container).
In U.S. Pat. No. 6,699,825 there was a discussion of using hard surface cleaning formulations containing, for example, lactic acid, multiple glycol ethers, surfactant, and fragrance. The disclosure of this patent, and of all other patent publications listed herein, are incorporated by reference as if fully set forth herein. There was also a discussion that such formulations could be used to impregnate wipes. However, there was no discussion in this patent of using such formulations with multi-layer pads, or with such pads linked to handles.
U.S. patent application publication 2003/0070246 described a multi-layer cleaning element. However, that application did not disclose impregnation of an interior layer of the pad with a cleaning liquid, or disclose optimized layer materials.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,593,427 disclosed another multi-layer cleaning structure as used in a different context.
In sum, the art did not provide optimized handles, optimized replaceable pads, or an optimized container system, for a scrubbing/surface treating device having a replaceable contact element.